Frequently Asked Questions


PLANNING AND SITING THE TURBINE

Q. DO I NEED PLANNING PERMISSION?

A. Planning Permission is required in the UK Shetland Wind Power Ltd can conduct the planning application on your behalf.

Q. WHAT IS THE BEST PLACE TO SITE A WIND TURBINE?

A. In order to benefit from the maximum amount of “clean air” it is recommended that your turbine is located as far away from obstacles such as buildings as possible.

Q. IS MY SITE SUITABLE FOR A WIND TURBINE?

A. We will carry out a free desktop assessment and site based assessment. This will let you know if your site is suitable for wind turbines. When assessing a site, due care and attention should be given to high obstacles such as trees, buildings and hills which can block the wind flow and significantly reduce the available wind speed.

Q. WHAT OUTPUT CAN I EXPECT FROM A WIND TURBINE?

A. Outputs vary from site to site; site assessment will be needed to work this out. The estimations you receive from this are for indicative purposes only

Q. HOW FAR FROM MY HOUSE DOES THE WIND TURBINE HAVE TO BE?

A. Call us for a free desk top assessment.

Q. HOW MUCH SPACE DO I NEED FOR A WIND TURBINE?

A. Each turbine and tilt-up tower combination requires its own “footprint” on the ground. As a rough guide taking the tower height and multiplying it by 2.5 will give you an approximate clearance space. The width required is the rotor diameter +2m to allow enough space to raise and lower the turbine. Guyed towers might require more space. To discuss your requirements why not complete the enquiry form on our website and someone will call you back to discuss, click on 'buy a wind turbine'.

Q. HOW CAN I FIND OUT ABOUT THE WIND SPEED IN MY AREA?

A. Call us for a free desk top assessment.

Q. ARE THERE ANY GUIDELINES TO HELP WITH MY PLANNING APPLICATION?

A. Yes we can supply planning packs for each of the turbines we offer as well as planning help and guidance. Or we can undertake the planning application on your behalf.

FINANCIALS – COSTS, INCOME AND BENEFITS

Q. HOW LONG WILL THE TURBINE TAKE TO PAY BACK?

A. The payback time will depend on several factors:

- Installation costs
- Your available wind resource on site
- Grant assistance
- Payment for your electricity

Our free desk top assessment will give you a considered estimate for your proposed site.

Q. CAN I GET GRANT OR FUNDING ASSISTANCE?

A. Please refer to our website for further details and links to current grant or funding assistance.

Q. IS IT SIMPLE TO APPLY FOR A GRANT?

A. The UK domestic grants are very straightforward. Business and community grants can be a bit more involved but can still be completed by the individual.

Q. HOW MUCH CAN I GET PAID FOR THE ELECTRICITY I PRODUCE?

A. Under FIT’s the fixed rate is currently 3.1p. However it is much more cost efficient to use the maximum amount of energy within your property and only export your surplus.

Q. WHAT ARE FEED IN TARIFFS (FITs)

Feed-in tariffs were increased by 4.8% on 1st April 2011 in line with the government’s promise to index link the tariffs. The FIT’s tariff for 1.5-15kw is now 28p/Kwh. Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) were introduced in the UK on 1st April 2010, causing exciting changes in the small scale renewables industry. FITs provide micro generators with a fixed payment for every unit of electricity generated and will be guaranteed for 20 years. In addition to this generators will be free to use the energy generated at their site and save the cost of buying electricity from the grid. Any excess energy can be sold to the grid at an agreed rate. The Feed-in Tariff is available to off grid installations too. The FIT’s payments are tax free to private individuals

Q. WHAT RATE OF VAT WILL I BE CHARGED?

In the UK there are three rates:

20.0% - Standard rate - Applicable to UK businesses
5% - Reduced rate - UK domestic householders
0% - Zero rate - UK new builds

Q. IS IT POSSIBLE TO INSURE THE TURBINE?

Yes, Renewable Energy Insurance covers repairs / replacements not covered by the manufacturers guarantee and also covers loss of income if an error occurs with the turbine.

INSTALLATION OF MY TURBINE

Q. CAN I DO MY OWN FOUNDATION WORK?

A. Only those who can demonstrate competence and experience of this type of work – such as a professional contractor may undertake this work under MCS rules.

Q. CAN I INSTALL A TURBINE MYSELF?

A. Installing the turbine yourself would void the warranty. To be eligible for FIT’s the turbine must be installed by a MCS certified installer.

TECHNOLOGY – HOW DO THEY WORK

Q. HOW DO RESIDENTIAL WIND TURBINES WORK?

A. A wind turbine, which is installed on top of a tower, collects kinetic energy from the wind and converts it to electricity that is compatible with your homes existing electrical system. In a normal residential application, both the wind turbine and your normal utility company serve a home. If the wind speeds are below the cut in speed, there will be no output from the turbine and all the power requirements are purchased from your electricity supplier. As wind speeds build, turbine output increases and the amount of power required from your electricity supplier is proportionately decreased. When the turbine produces more power than the house needs the extra electricity is sold to the national grid.

Q. WILL IT HELP THE ENVIRONMENT IF I INSTALL A WIND TURBINE AT MY HOME?

A. Yes, wind turbines produce no pollution and by using wind power you will be offsetting pollution that would have been generated by your electricity supplier. Over its life a small residential wind turbine can offset approximately 1.2 tonnes of air pollutants and 200 tonnes of greenhouse gases (Carbon dioxide and other gases which cause climate change)

Q. HOW FAST DO THE BLADES TURN?

A. On a domestic scale wind turbine blades commonly rotate between 100 and 250 revolutions per minute at constant speed.

Q. WHAT IS A GRID-CONNECTED SYSTEM?

A. A grid-connected system feeds power directly into your main distribution board and exports power if there is too much back to the grid; you can also take power from the grid. This is a balanced and synchronous system and will not affect your day-to-day living.

Q. WHAT IS A BATTERY CHARGING SYSTEM?

A. A battery charging system provides you with a continuous power source for your house via an inverter, which makes the power from the turbine usable. If you have an off grid site, you would have a diesel generator on stand-by to cover periods when you had no wind at all for a few days (typically because the batteries are sized to give you around 2-3 days worth of storage). If there is too much power from the turbine, it can be diverted into either water or space heating.

Q. WHAT IS A DIRECT HEATING SYSTEM?

A. A direct heating system feeds power directly into a series of heaters (either water or space heaters) and is used in conjunction with your existing heating system. It is the cheapest of our systems but also the most dedicated as you only get power for heat – and you only get that heat when there is wind. Heat can be stored in water or storage heaters and released at times of calm.

Q. IS THERE A LEGAL REQUIREMENT FOR GRID CONNECTION?

A. G-83/1 and G-59/1 are the electrical recommendations that apply in the UK. If a turbine is under 16A per Phase then G-83/1 applies. If it is over 16A per Phase then G-59/1 applies. G- 83/1 is more a notification of connection to the grid whereas G-59/1 seeks permission to connect. This is a legal requirement, which all small-scale and large-scale generators have to adhere to.

Q. WILL A TURBINE KEEP PRODUCING ELECTRICITY IN A POWER CUT?

A. A grid-connected turbine will have to disconnect for safety reasons if there is a power cut. This is a legal requirement.

Q. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT IS NOT WINDY?

A. If your turbine is battery connected, power is stored in the battery which you can use when there is no wind. If your turbine is grid connected and you sell excess power to the grid, when there is no wind, your power will come from the grid.

Q. DO THE TURBINES STOP IN HIGH WINDS?

A. Each turbine manufacturer has its own method of dealing with high winds but this scale of turbines unlike commercial wind turbines do not shut down in higher wind speeds.

Q. ARE THE TURBINES NOISY?

A. Noise data can be provided when required i.e. for planning applications etc. We don’t think domestic size wind turbines are noisy. We think that the best way to judge this for yourself is to go and listen to a similar size turbine on a similar site.

SAFETY

Q. DO WIND TURBINES INTERFERE WITH TV RECEPTION?

A. Wind turbines do not interfere with TV reception.

Q. DO WIND TURBINES FRIGHTEN LIVESTOCK?

A. Wind farming is popular with farmers, because their land can continue to be used for growing crops or grazing livestock. Wind turbines do not disturb sheep, cows and horses.

Q. DO TURBINES KILL BIRDS?

A. Bird strikes do happen very rarely. We take care to site turbines away from bird feeders and nests as well as to identify migratory flight-paths where appropriate. The turbines rotate at a slow rpm and our black blades can be detected by birds from several hundred metres – allowing them to adjust their course appropriately. Vehicles, building windows and natural predators kill millions more birds a year than are killed or injured by wind turbines.

Q. DO TURBINES INTERFERE WITH ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT?

A. No, there is no interference whatsoever with electrical equipment.

Q. DO TURBINES INTERFERE WITH TELECOMS OR RADIO EQUIPMENT?

A. No, turbines do not. We have a number of turbines at telecoms bases for a variety of leading telecoms companies including O2, Orange and T-mobile.

Q. DO THE TURBINES PRODUCE RADIATION?

A. No they do not produce radiation.

Q. DO THE TURBINES PRODUCE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS?

A. No they do not produce electromagnetic fields or affect any equipment in the vicinity.

Q. WILL THE TURBINE AFFECT MY OR MY NEIGHBOUR’S PROPERTY PRICE?

A. No, it could add value to your property if you generate your own energy supply and your neighbour’s property prices should not be affected.

SERVICING

Q. WHAT IS THE SERVICING FREQUENCY?

A. The turbines require annual servicing, by an accredited installer. As part of the warranty agreement, the turbine has to be serviced annually.

Q. WHAT IS INVOLVED IN SERVICING?

A. Once a year, the turbine is lowered to ground level (using the hinged tower), the covers are removed and a full service of parts is conducted.

Q. CAN I DO MY OWN SERVICING?

A. Manufacturers stipulate certain standards/ requirements for servicing whilst under warranty. Outwith the warranty period we would encourage you to take out a service agreement.

Q. CAN I GET A SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE PLAN?

A. Yes, service and maintenance plans are available and a quotation for this can be prepared for you.

Call us on:

0141 404 0182 (Glasgow)

01595 696049 (Shetland)